Vegan Broccoli and Cheese Soup

January 20, 2017Angela (Oh She Glows)

by Angela (Oh She Glows) on January 20, 2017

"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something." ~Neil Gaiman

I shared this quote in my newsletter this week, and I think it’s going to be my guide for 2017. Heck, I might even frame it for my office! I tend to shy away from things if I don’t think I can do them well, and this quote reminds me to take more risks in the year to come. My goal list tends to be pretty lofty at the start of each year, but I’m also not too hard on myself if I only complete a portion of them, which is usually the case. Seeing as it’s the new year, I thought it might be fun to update you on what we’ve been up to so far and what some of our goals are.

On Monday we sent out the latest issue (#11) of In the Glow, sharing healthy recipe ideas for the new year, as well as exciting OSG news tidbits. Starting (and growing) a newsletter was one of our goals for 2016. We sent out our first one on February 9, 2016, followed by 9 more issues over the course of the year. We’re now over 40,000 subscribers and growing! THANK YOU. I’m hoping to send out a survey at some point this year so you can let me know what you want to see more (or less) of.

You may have seen that we’re looking to expand our team. Right now our small-but-fierce team consists of myself, Eric, Shari (Content Editor), and Nicole (Recipe Tester). This year we’d like to hire a Video Content Creator (details on the position here), and potentially, a Social Media Specialist and RD or Holistic Nutritionist intern. (As you may know, the latter two were hiring goals for 2016, but ones that didn’t end up happening due to how busy things were. Thank you to everyone who applied for those positions, and rest assured we haven’t forgotten!)

On the personal side of things, I’m hoping to make progress with my anxiety this year. It’s a never-ending struggle, and tends to be on my goal list each year, but I’m going to keep on with it. I’ve found that postpartum hormones have been making my anxiety a bit worse than usual, and I’m going to take some active steps in 2017 to, hopefully, improve how I feel.

Let’s see, what else? I’ve been hard at work developing recipes for the app. Last week I added 3 new recipes—Brownie Breakfast Bake, Easy Nut-Free Taco Salad, and Dill Pickle Smoothie—to the app. We launched the new Get Glowing Bundle last week, too, which contains 5 “reset button” recipes to kick off the new year. The app bundle is 99 cents, and for the month of January all of our revenue from this bundle will be donated to Blessings in a Backpack Canada. This charity ensures children in need receive backpacks filled with food every Friday throughout the school year, so they can return to class on Monday well fed and ready to learn. It’s awesome to be working with BIB again!

On the blog front, I’m starting to bookmark old recipes that are in desperate need of some updating—such as my Broccoli and Cheese Soup. The original recipe was posted back in 2011, and I took one look at the recipe and its photos and knew I had to breathe some life back into it with a fresh new approach. Last year I also started adding metric conversions to my recipes, and I’ll continue to share these calculations for each new recipe in the future. It’s tedious (mainly because I weigh each solid ingredient), but I love hearing from those of you in the UK and elsewhere who find it incredibly helpful! I want you to have similar results, ya know?! If there are any other old blog recipes that you’d like to see revamped in 2017, please drop me a comment below. I’d love to hear your ideas!

There are some other goals on our radar this year, but this feels long-winded enough for now.

Cheers to making mistakes, trying new things, and learning as we go in 2017!

4.7 from 58 reviews

Vegan Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free

By Angela Liddon

Like a big, cozy sweater, this soothing soup will help you get through the long winter. It combines my love for broccoli and cheese sauce, while doing without the dairy-based cream or cheese. This is a bit of a fussy soup (think weekend, not weeknight) as it involves a few homemade components (cheese sauce, soup, and homemade croutons), so you’ll need an hour start to finish. If you can make the cheese sauce the day before, that’ll help streamline things! This soup is adapted from my 2011 version. The cheese sauce is lightly adapted from my cheese sauce in Oh She Glows Every Day.

For topping:

Directions:

For the cheese sauce: Place the potatoes and carrots in a medium pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain.

While the potatoes and carrots are simmering, add the nutritional yeast, oil, water, lemon juice, salt, garlic, and vinegar into a high-speed blender and set aside.

Chop the onions, garlic, celery, broccoli, and potatoes for the soup and set aside.

When the simmering potatoes and carrots are fork-tender, drain them and add to the blender. Blend the cheese sauce until smooth, then transfer to a bowl.

For the soup: In a large pot, sauté the oil, onion, and garlic over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes.

To the pot, add the celery, broccoli, and potatoes and sauté for a few minutes more. Now, add the broth, nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 13 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Turn off the heat and let the soup sit for a few minutes. Add the chickpea miso.

Carefully transfer the soup into a blender (you might have to do this in two batches). Blend until smooth and place back into the pot.

Set aside 1/4 cup (60 mL) of cheese sauce for garnish. Add the rest of the cheese sauce into the soup and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste if desired.

Ladle the soup into bowls and swirl in a tablespoon of the reserved cheese sauce into each bowl. Top with Pan-Fried Garlic Croutons, paprika, and parsley, if desired.

Tips:

* To cut down on cooking time, be sure to dice the potatoes and carrots very small.

** Refined coconut oil doesn’t have a coconut flavour, which is why I love it in the cheese sauce. Grapeseed oil also has a neutral flavour, but if you don’t have either you can probably get away with a light-tasting olive oil.

*** I love chickpea miso, it’s light in flavour and often soy-free (be sure to check the label, though). If you can’t find chickpea miso, any light or white miso should do the trick! I like a full 3 teaspoons of chickpea miso in this soup, but depending on the flavour of your miso you might prefer a bit less.

Postpartum hormones are the worst! At 23 weeks pregnant with my miracle baby after docs told me 0% of getting pregnant after 13 failed IUI’s and 1 whopping horrible IVF cycle, I’m with you on the anxiety. I’m trying to tackle it with diet and consistent exercise, but it’s never easy. Being off all those fertility drugs is helping a lot though!

I honestly didn’t know you could make vegan cheddar/broccoli soup but your spin looks fabulous and I will be trying it this weekend! Thank you =

I love the looks of this soup! I was surprised to see this recipe come up in my feed this morning. It was one day late for me since I just made a big batch of my own vegan broccoli cheese soup last night. I will have to try again with the ideas you have here. Thank you for your blog and books. They really help me. We are mostly dairy-free vegetarian at home and sometimes I just need new inspiration. This year I want to work to “know” a lot more dairy free recipes by heart so that meal prep is easier.

I think you should definitely unearth the 5-ingredient date bars. I’ve made them so many times I no longer use the recipe…and really it’s just a template, because there are so many substitution options! I feel like the date paste in the middle makes them more special than just a regular Lara bar replica. One of my faves from your archives :-)

I am so excited to try out this recipe in the cold days ahead to keep me extra cozy :) I actually have a question about the newsletter. I signed up for it, but don;t seem to be getting it sent to my e-mail address (in spam or in my regular inbox). I’m not quite sure what’s going on there! Just wanted to give you a heads up and see if anyone else was having any problems.

Also, while I’m here, thank you so much for all that you do! I’ve never made a recipe of yours I don’t like (most recently obsessed with your chickpea pancake and all that I can find to put on top of it!) and I have converted many a friend over to your delicious way of cooking :)

I am also signed up for the newsletter but not receiving it. I’ve checked my spam/junk mail folder but nothing. I’ve tried re-entering my email in the OSG sign up page but no luck. I would love to receive the newsletter, because everything OSG related is amazing!!

Thanks for letting us know, Courtney! We’ll check things out at our end, and if you could try adding newsletter [at] ohsheglows [dot] com to your contacts that might help with successful delivery as well.

Hi Hannah, Thanks so much for the kind words! :) I hope you enjoy the soup when you get a chance to give the recipe a try. I love it for keeping warm and toasty on cold wintry days!

As to the issues you’ve encountered with receiving the newsletter, we’ll look into things at our end to see if anything may be amiss with your subscription. You could also try adding newsletter [at] ohsheglows [dot] com to your contacts; this should help ensure that it gets delivered to your inbox!

Wow this looks amazing! I was just thinking about broccoli and cheese soup the other day. I haven’t had it for years and it looks like this is the perfect time to bring it back into my life! Can’t wait to try it out!

I’d like to see dimensions of tins and baking dishes please :-)
I don’t know what size a 2.5 litre square tin is as we measure our tins in inches.
I love the sound of the above recipe and have thoroughly enjoyed all the recipes I’ve made from your blog and your book I treated myself too. Many thanks.

I found your blog back in 2010 and we’ve been loving it (and both cookbooks and app!) ever since:) Your Canadian maple baked beans are a favourite staple in our house over the fall and winter, wouldn’t mind seeing that one revived!

Holy smokes woman! You are like a super hero!?!
I follow you on instagram and I’m absolutley amazed on all the recipes you create, as well as being a mother. Last year when you spread the word you were pregnant with Arlo, I was so happy and excited for you. I reached out to you because my husband and I had been trying for our second for 8 months! Low and behold, we eventually did concieve and now I am 6 months with our second (and last!) girl!! Sooooooo happy and blessed.
Anyway, thought I would share, I can only hope that I can juggle my blog, recipe testing, and being a mother of two as suave’ (definitley think this word is wrong but you get the gist) as you! Cheers to 2017…I have a feeling it’s going to be a good one!

This looks so good – I can’t wait to give it a try! Also, I can really relate with your struggle to overcome anxiety – it’s so tough. Good luck with your goals for the new year!
-Sammy
http://www.sammyboycebal.com/

Been trying for the last few hours to download the latest “Detox Bundle” on my i-Pad mini 2, with no success (it keeps ‘trying’ but never downloads; no payment issue, as the payment has gone through, in fact when I retry downloading, it says it will try to ‘restore’ the bundle since the purchase was already made). Never had any issues downloading bundles on the same device previously, just wanted to see if you know if anyone else has experienced a similar glitch. I tried to send a message on your app page support, but that wouldn’t send either! Maybe I’m just having a bad tech day! Excited to try those Detox recipes AND the Broccoli Cheese Soup.

Hi Connie, I’m so sorry to hear you’ve been having difficulties with the detox bundle! If you’ve tried using the “Restore Purchases” button on the bottom of the bundle page and that doesn’t work, there there may be an issue with your Settings and I would try the following:

1) You may have in-app purchases disabled (check Settings App > General > Restriction), and they’ll need to be enabled.
2) Do you have a family iCloud account? The family account could have restrictions, too.
3) Try Sign Out and Sign In again the iTunes account. In Settings > iTunes & App Store (tap on email to show options)

Thank you soooo much for adding metric conversions to the solids in your recipes!!!
Even after living in the US for 17 years, as a native german I still find it bewildering to stuff ingredients in a small cup instead of simply weighing them.
My daughter and I decided to go vegan just last summer after I had been vegetarian since my late teens. We LOVE both of your books (wish you already had the conversions in them, now they contain a lot of my scribbling where I added the weights) and your website.
My husband is somewhat of a picky eater and used to love meat, but a lot of your recipes he really enjoys.
Thank you so very much for all the inspiration you give us (we also like to get creative and make our own versions of recipes) and keep up the great work!

Thanks so much for the lovely comment, Eve! I’m so happy to hear you and your family (even your husband! hah) are such fans of my books and blog. And I’m glad you’re finding the metric conversions helpful. :)

Hi Jessica, Thanks for your question! Rest assured, I’ll still be posting new recipes to the blog (and anytime I post a new blog recipe, it’ll get uploaded to the app for free).That being said, sometimes there will be exclusive recipes added to the app that won’t appear anywhere else. I hope this helps clarify things!

Hi there,
the recipe looks wonderful. I tried your vegan chocolate chips cookies, absolutely fabulous!.
I am new to your blog, I did not realize that you had a newsletter going out. I signed up today, but is there anyway to get the issues I missed?
I would so much appreciate it!

Hi Susana, I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying that cookie recipe! I’m sorry but currently there isn’t a way to view the old newsletters. If we do end up putting them online I will be sure to let you all know! Thank you so much for signing up to In the Glow. :) I hope you enjoy the issues to come.

This looks great, Angela – as I live in Europe, I am so pleased you are using metric measurements as well – it can be really helpful! I don’t have an Android or iPhone so I’m trying to persuade my husband to download your app for me. I do miss the times of this blog where you wrote about such fun day to day life stories… (around 2010, 2011 ish) they were such a joy to read! I know how busy you are now compared to then but sometimes I go back and just read your archives because they are so enjoyable… the real life stories combined with recipes :)

Angela, I cannot tell you how much you have inspired me. Your story is very similar to mine. Anxiety sucks! I struggle almost ever day. Thank you so much for all of your recipes and inspiration.
I am going to make this soup tonight, can I use an immersion blender for the soup or do I have to transfer it to the blender? I think the broccoli might be a challenge for the immersion blender.
Like an above poster I am also not receiving the newsletter in any of my mailbox folders.

Hey Tania, I tried this soup using my immersion blender as I was curious too, and I found it was quite grainy in texture as opposed to smooth and creamy like the blender gets it. (Maybe I didn’t blend is long enough though?) If you don’t mind the potential graininess issue, then feel free to try it out! I was aiming for a really smooth texture which is why I loved the blender here. I hope you enjoy it if you try it out! Let us know how it goes.

Angela, I just ended up using my blender. In my head, I thought it would be a pain to transfer the soup to my blender, but it was easy. I called it vegetable cheese soup in hopes my son who hate broccoli would eat it. He did eat a half of bowl. The rest of the family loved it. I liked it better the second day. Thanks again for a great recipe

Thank you for another wonderful “comfort” recipe that is nutritious, healthy and hearty! This seemed like quite a bit of work, but when I made it, It was quick and easy! My family loved it and was actually full after! I did want you to know that I was anxiously awaiting the android edition of your new app since I have Kindle Fire. I was greatly disappointed to find it on Google Play which no longer allows downloads to Kindle Fire! Will you be selling the app on Amazon at all fore those of us that rely on our Kindle Fires or tablets? Take care! My anxiety ALWAYS acts up worse in the winter!! You are not alone!

Hi Brenda, Oh, I’m so happy you loved the soup! Thanks for letting me know. =) That is such a bummer about Google Play not allowing downloads to Kindle Fire. I spoke to Eric about it and he said we can look into it as we’re not sure what the process is and what costs there would be if we need further development. Thanks so much for your interest!

Simply yum!
PS – Candida can be a cause of anxiety and it doesn’t always manifest in the obvious visible
locations. May be worth testing just to rule it out, it’s not that uncommon after pregnancy.
PS2- Just wanted to say again how much I love your blog. I came across your “Crazy woman” (pms) chocolate dessert the other day and laughed out loud. You are hilarious and a joyful presence in my kitchen!
PS3 – I have tried about 1/2 dozen unsuccessful raw almond pulp cracker recipes after making almond milk, and I keep wishing there was a foolproof (ie Angela Liddon) recipe for that. Hint hint :)

I cannot wait to try your broccoli and cheese soup! The “real thing” is a guilty pleasure of mine, and I have been without it for years since my boyfriend cannot have cheese. Finally an alternative we can both enjoy! :D

Hi Angela,
I’ve signed up in the past for the newsletter but I haven’t received the last few. My email address is the same, in fact when I tried to re-register I got a message that I was already registered. Not sure what the issue is, since I’ve received the newletters in the past.Kinda weird.Thoughts??

Hi Joanna, I’m sorry to hear you haven’t been receiving the newsletter. Thanks for letting us know! We’ll look into the status of your subscription at our end; it might also help if you could try adding newsletter [at] ohsheglows [dot] com to your contacts. Doing so should help ensure that it gets delivered to your inbox!

I just made this cheese sauce. SO GOOD! I have never found any vegan cheese that makes me think of cheese– and this sauce– omg. I want to feed it to my friends and not tell them it’s not really cheese.

I haven’t even read the recipe but wanted to tell you how thrilled I am that you’re including metric conversions in your recipes now! I’m in the US and, after writing for a food magazine for several years now—one that insisted I include metric—I can’t stand cooking without them! I SO wish American recipes included them more often. OK, rant over, now back to this divine looking soup! :-) Thanks for all you do, and best of luck in the battle against anxiety. You’re not alone—which I realize isn’t a helpful statement AT ALL, but the struggle is real and I feel it too. I wish you calm and productive thoughts from here until next year, and then some.

Hi there Sunita, This is a question I was pondering myself just the other day! I find that potato is hit and miss when it comes to freezing and thawing. For example, I tried freezing and thawing my cheese sauce (which has potato in it) and I noticed the texture changed a bit and it wasn’t as smooth and creamy. For this reason, I’m not sure how the soup would be impacted, but if you try it out please let us know. :)

Made this tonight and we loved it. It’s definitely a “weekend” soup, but totally worth the time. The non-vegans liked it too, so don’t think twice about serving it to company. Yummy! Thanks for the updated recipe!

Great post once again! I will definitely be adding the cheese soup recipe to my meal plan next week! I’m always looking for more ideas to add since I only can get so much good food in without ruining my calorie count haha. I’ve been doing lots of yoga and following a diet plan that has made me lose a lot of weight recently. This person made a pretty good review about it, feel free to check it out (:
http://honesthealthreview.com/2017/01/20/the-3-week-diet-does-it-work/

Hello! Love ur blog and cookbooks! They are my go to for home cooking inspiration! I can’t help but notice you mention your anxiety a few times in your blog, may I suggest cutting down on the garlic and onions in your food? As an avid yoga/meditation practitioner, one of the disciplines I follow is no garlic/onions or any foods in that family (leeks, spring onions, chives etc), as well as cooking my food in a meditative state (stress free) and of course, eating plant based. Let me know if you’d like more info. You have given so much, would love to return your kindness. PS. Substitutes for garlic/onions can be fennel, celery and an indian spice, Asofeteida but you really won’t miss them at all =)

Thank you Mercedes! So happy you enjoy the blog and books. I have never heard that about onions and garlic before, but that’s interesting. I really don’t know if I could do without them long-term but I might have to try it for a few days just to see if I notice any difference. ;)

It’s worth a try! Maybe doing it for a week, if possible, and getting rid of them from your fridge as their smell is really strong. It is believed that out of all the plant foods, those in this family resonate at a different frequency and have subtle effects on the energy of the mind – something we can measure just from their smell. Just as the smell of freshly baked goods can give warmth to the home, the smell of onions and garlic also have a distinctive smell that affects every corner of the house too. How do you react when you smell meat or fish on someone? It’s not very pleasant once you’re vegetarian. Same with picking up the smell of onions/garlic. I wish I could cook for you so you can try that foods are just as yummy without them. Recently I learned that green peppers are a great substitute in slow cooked marinara sauce – so many ways to substitute them really!

This was absolutely fantastic! What a perfect soup for a chilly rainy day! Here is the problem. I made A LOT!!! Would this soup freeze well ? I have company coming in on Thursday and it is Sunday. I would love to pull it out of the freezer and warm it up

Hey Jeannie, I’m so happy you enjoyed the soup! Hope it helped keep you warm in this dreary weather. :) About freezing the soup, I find that potato is hit and miss when it comes to freezing and thawing. (For example, I tried freezing and thawing my cheese sauce (which has potato in it) and I noticed the texture changed a bit and it wasn’t as smooth and creamy.) For this reason, I’m not sure how the soup would be impacted, but if you try freezing it, please let us know how it goes!. :)

Truly an amazing recipe! It was a big hit this weekend. I think that this wonderful cheese sauce can probably be put to many uses, like a dip fort French fries, breakfasts with mock eggs Benedict, etc.

I made this for dinner aaaaand…..I don’t think I’m going to share any of it. My family can order pizza. I am currently scraping every molecule of the cheese out of the vitamix. What I didn’t put in the soup I am eating with tortilla chips. Delicious!

I just made this soup! It was great. I didn’t blend mine through, so the cayenne pepper was a little too much for my taste. Ended up adding a little more broth. I would absolutely make it again. Thanks for the recipe.

I made this soup last night and it came out delish!!!! It made plenty! I froze some and and brought about three more days of leftover soup to reheat for lunch at work and it reheated beautifully! Thanks again for another 5 star recipe!! I have both of your cookbooks plus your app and everything I make from your recipes is just amazing! I appreciate you sharing your talents!! Thanks for keeping me healthy!

This seems delicious ! I’ve made your almond butter chocolate chunks cookies twice over the holidays and I currently have a batch of sweet potato lentil stew simmering ! As I’m getting more comfortable with vegan cooking and baking, I start to explore new blogs but I keep coming back to yours because I feel particularly attached to it since it got me started as a new vegan. As far as my resolutions go, I’ve started the online plant-based cooking course from Rouxbe and I’m hoping to be more consistent with my meditation practice with headspace’s help. As I read how you mention wanting to get your anxiety a bit more in check, I couldn’t help but think that the headspace app would be perfect for you ! You should really check it out, it does wonderful things for me ! Best of luck,

Made this for dinner and it was excellent! That cheese sauce sounded a bit too healthy for me, but did not disappoint in its richness!! So creamy & lush! I plugged all the ingredients into MyFitnessPal and for 8 serves it is 152 cals, 5.5 fat, 22 carb, 5 protein! This includes cheese sauce, but not croutons. Will keep this recipe and may even make the cheese sauce for another use i.e. Vegan Nachos!!

Hi Angela,
You might want to look into adding a niacin supplement to help you will your anxiety. If you do some research you will find that this can be VERY beneficial in helping stress and anxiety, it will calm you within about 20 minutes of taking it.
Hope this will help you.
Keep the recipes coming….. :)

I love your recipes and so does my family (although we are not vegetarians). I was wondering..our blender doesn’t work. Would a food processor work for the cheese sauce or should I use a hand held blender instead? I’ve been meaning to invest in a Vitamix but they’re sooo expensive and I’d hate to try the recipe and have it flop (it would be a terrible waste of ingredients). Thanks for your help!

Hey Rosemary, I haven’t tried this cheese sauce using a food processor or immersion blender yet, but I will try to remember to test these out in the future. My guess is that it might work, but could turn out a bit grainer in texture. If you give it a go, please report back! I hope you enjoy the soup, however you end up making it.

Hi Emily, I’d say this soup lasts well in the fridge, sealed in an airtight container, for up to 4 to 5 days. And yes, it reheats wonderfully! As to the cheese sauce, it should last in the fridge for 4 to 5 days as well. I hope this helps!

I also wanted to say that I love the quote you shared and how it relates to you. I, too, do not take chances, or risks, because I don’t think I will succeed. However, I have tried to make this new year different and, so far, I have gone back to being 100% vegan and started a blog of my own.

Thanks for the inspiration, motivation, and all the delicious recipes :)

This looks absolutely delicious, I’m going to make it tonight with the broccoli I have! I also love your goals for the new year, it reminds me of a quote I read recently that’s really resonating with me … “Fortune favors the bold”. Hope 2017 is good to you!

I love all of your recipes, but the ones I make ALL THE TIME (okay, probably too much! I can not help myself they are so good!) are the butternut squash/cashew blend mac & cheeze and the protein bars. I would love to see a refresh on these ones. I just can’t get enough (especially since Costco & BJ’s sells butternut squash in ready to make frozen cubes – so quick and easy!)!

Winner Winner! My husband made this last night for me. The perfect treat after a looong work day AND his first attempt at a vegan recipe! Needless to say we both LOVED the soup and started planning every possible way we could use the cheese sauce…a dead on replacement for nacho cheese. My husband is not vegan and always struggles with not knowing what to make for me, so thanks for the help and easy to follow instructions. He proudly shared photos of the dish with fam and friends before digging in! :)

I really love that recipe, very comforting and smells delicious. The cheezy sauce reminds me of a nachos vegan sauce I saw on internet, really good with sriracha sauce in it. But maybe not in this soup :)

Tried this recipe tonight from the app. I didn’t realize that the website had so many more pictures of what it’s supposed to look like, LOL! As I’m sure you can guess, mine didn’t look quite right. My issue was with the cheese sauce. The potatoes made the water so thick that I couldn’t really drain it, so I think my consistency was way off on the cheese sauce (it was more white than yellow). I also forgot to put in the miso, which I actually have no idea where to buy, but I was going to try a substitute that I found online.

When all was said and done, it actually still turned out really well and I got an enthusiastic, “That’s good soup!” from my hubby, so that really says it all.

I was thinking, it might be nice if the app had the link to the web recipe so that if people run into issues or are unsure of something, they can easily read all the details with pictures and reviews or tips.

Hi Jamie, I find the miso really makes the soup flavours pop and come together. It also lends a nice umami flavour. I found it was pretty tasty before adding it, but once I added it the angels started to sing, hah. ;) That said, it’s still pretty nice without it too, just not maybe a “home run” for me. I hope this helps!

Hi Angela: On a non food note…when you first started out blogging, where did you go to learn how to do this? I want to start a blog about my weight loss journey and a plant based whole grain diet. I want to thank you for all your hard work and inspiring recipes, my mom and I have really been enjoying your amazing recipes! We both have your cookbooks ?

Hi Julie, It’s lovely to hear from you, and I’m thrilled to hear you and your mother have been enjoying my cookbooks and recipes. :) I’m so sorry it’s taken me a while to get back to you — this is a tough question to answer! When I first started blogging, I never predicted that Oh She Glows would grow in the way it has; in all honesty, I really just learned as I went, especially in those early days! I started by creating a blog on a free platform like Wordpress, and then I ended up buying my domain name once I knew I wanted to stick with it. Looking back, I would try to secure your domain name before creating your blog just to make sure it’s available. ;) There are many great tutorials online on how to start and maintain a blog too (unfortunately, I don’t have anything at the moment to direct you too). I wish you all the best with starting your blog!

Hi Julie, Though we don’t have a set publishing schedule, as sometimes we release special editions around big events, last year we had 10 issues of In the Glow go out. We’re hoping to have as many, if not more, issues released in 2017!

I have written a book review for The Oh She Glows Cookbook for my customers and would like to know if I can use photos of Angela, the cover & at least one recipe picture in my review. I LOVE this cookbook and only have amazing things to say about it. I am a nutritionist for a Cold-Pressed juice company in Canada. It’s been challenging finding contact information so I’m sending my request this way.
Also if Angela every makes it to Vancouver Island would love to set up a book signing or talk or something. I’m sure she’s busy, busy, busy but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Thank-you in advance,
Kathi

Hi Annette, I haven’t tried freezing the soup yet myself, but I’ve been wondering the same thing! I find potato can hit and miss when it comes to freezing and thawing. For e.g., I tried freezing and thawing my cheese sauce (which has potato in it) and I noticed the texture changed a bit and it wasn’t as smooth and creamy. In light of that, I’m not 100% sure how the soup would be impacted…if you try it out please let us know! :)

Holy cow! I’m in love with this cheese sauce! I want to dip in all the crunchy things ?
It’s got a fantastic, creamy texture (like velveeta – without the guilt!) and flavor and I love that it’s based on veggies instead of nuts – those can get too heavy and rich. I’m not even vegan, but I plan on making this one often. Oh and the soup overall is great, too. Thanks so much for the inspiration and great recipes!

I made this tonight exactly as per the recipe. Although it was filling and delicious, I would say the “cheese sauce” didn’t look or taste like cheese sauce and was like yellow-hued mashed potatoes. Since it didn’t actually look like swirly cheese when swirled into the broccoli soup, I think next time I wouldn’t spend the time making the cheese sauce- I would just add those ingredients in to the broccoli part. (Other than the carrots, the ingredients overlap anyway). That would save time and get the same result.

It’s so super delicious, so warming up, so smooth… simply so good! I played with your original recipe a bit, and added apple cider vinegar instead of white wine vinegar for the sauce, swapped potatoes for butternut squash (only in the soup), doubled the amount of lemon juice and tripled the nutritional yeast. I also added 1/2 tsp. of hot paprika, and only a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper. In the end, I skipped the croutons. I just love to melt in the smoothness and delicate texture of the dish. Wow, it’s been like an hour since I had this miraculous soup, and I still feel so incredibly good. What can I say, I think that was just what I needed today.

Thank you, Angela, for putting so much heart and work into what you’re doing here, which is – in my opinion – teaching others how to love yourself. I feel you contributed tons to my taking care of myself, listening to my body, nourishing and loving myself more!

The android app is great, I totally love it! One remark: shouldn’t there be an option to tap (with a black heart, for example) those recipes you don’t like? Would involve much less tapping! ;)

Hi Angela! I love this soup! Made a double batch of it last week.. delicious. We double or triple (or even quadruple!) most recipes so we can freeze and enjoy later. Having good quality containers for freezing in our house is crucial! We currently use the Anchor brand, but find the lids constantly crack and it’s getting frustrating! I was wondering what brand of containers you use for freezing? Thanks so much for being an inspiration. I use your cookbooks, app or blog daily.

Holy crap! 1) this is the most amazing soup ever 2) THE CHEESE SAUCE!!!! it almost didn’t make it into my soup it was so delicious we were eating it straight out of the blender! Would be so good as is or with some added spices as a queso type cheese!

Hi Angela! I’m absolutely love your recipes and made this one last night. It was really good (even my 8 year old approved – which is always a win) unfortunately I think I overdid it with the garlic – the cloves were too big, didn’t cook enough or something. Anyway, my question, is there anything that you can suggest I do to the leftover soup to cut the garlic flavour a little? Thanks!

Hey Kate, Aw, I’m sorry to hear that about the garlic (so easy to do!), but glad it was a hit nonetheless. You might be able to cut the soup down with some veggie broth (this will obviously thin the soup though) and then re-adjust the salt/spices to taste. Hope this helps!

Angela – you are an inspiration! Have both your cookbooks and have given, and recommended, many as gifts. Love that you have pictures and a chatty explanation with each recipe. Every single one has turned out perfectly!

My most recent success is your cheese and broccoli soup – my carnivore husband raved over it. And no wonder….it was fabulous.

Hi
I am a huge fan of your cookbooks. After receiving one for Christmas 2 years ago, I thought,”I am not vegan what am I going to do with this??” Since then I have become much more mindful of my meat consumption and I can’t put this book down! I have not tried this recipe, but one day I made your Golden French Lentil Stew as well as your 6 Vegetable and “Cheese” Soup as my Sunday meal prep. On a whim I decided to mix the 2 and it is AMAZING. I love getting knowing I’m getting some broccoli in my diet with the protein boost from those lentils. I highly recommended it!! Keep the amazing recipes coming. Very grateful for your hard work.

Just made this yesterday… and omg so delish. The only thing I changed was no oil for the onions. My 18 mo old loved this…she absolutely wouldn’t share lol. So easy to make especially if you do the boiling method for soaking cashews. I’ll be making again. Thank you thank you

Hey Colleen, I haven’t tried this yet myself, but it’s something I’ve wondered about. I find that potato is hit and miss when it comes to freezing and thawing. For example, I tried freezing and thawing my cheese sauce (which has potato in it) and I noticed the texture changed a bit and it wasn’t as smooth and creamy. For this reason, I’m not sure how the soup would be impacted, but if you try it out please let us know. :)

I make the simplest broccoli soups often. all of them vegan. I thought I’d give the “cheese” addition a try. I’m sorry, our family was disappointed. It was spicy and bland. I’d rather have all the ingredients separate than add it again into a soup. The presentation was beautiful but it just didn’t deliver on taste. :/

This is so good! I didn’t have any refined coconut oil and so planned on substituting canola as it was the only mild flavored oil on hand. Unfortunately, I forgot about that plan and used my regular coconut oil….it made the final product have a strange aftertaste. That’s on me, though! It still tasted great over all and will try it again with the recommended oil. Fair warning: Don’t use unrefined coconut oil. :)

Fantastic soup on these cold days, we’re getting lately. I wanted my reader’s to try this “Vegan” version of one of my favorites. I’ve posted it under my “weekly” recipes, chosen for their enjoyment, and linked it back to “ohsheglows.com”

I made this recipe today and it was filling and delicious! I had to keep myself from eating all the “cheese” sauce on its own, though! (I might use it as a chip dip sometime, hmm…) I used regular white miso because that’s what I already had and I topped it with homemade popcorn with melted coconut oil and sprinkled with nutritional yeast.

Also, I didn’t peel the potatoes (because I’m lazy.) It certainly didn’t look as pretty, but it didn’t compromise the taste or texture at all.

This was delicious! I didn’t have the miso, but the soup was still wonderful and the cheese sauce was a big hit with my kids (as were the croutons!) I also fed it to my 87 year old (decidedly NOT vegan) mother and she loved it (didn’t feel the need to tell her either!) It looked beautiful as well – I would serve this to guests at my table.

As a huge fan of your blog, I trusted that this was going to be delicious, but I was skeptical seeing nutritional yeast on the ingredients list (I’ve had gross experiences with other recipes that included nutritional yeast). However, I LOVE this soup! I think the miso plays an important part in the flavor and gives it a yummy kick. There are so many spices and ingredients that all come together for a delicious soup. I think serving it with croutons would definitely give it a better visual appeal, but you don’t need them for taste :) Love knowing that I’m eating something healthy, packed with so much broccoli, and that is creamy without any dairy. Thank you!

Though normally I would prefer non veg soups this vegan recipe is definitely an attention grabber and one I’m definitely trying this weekend. The creamy flavor with the broccoli.. looks yummy :).. thanks for the awesome recipe.

This is looking very delicious cheese soup.I will prefer your soup to my friends, family members. They will really like your cheese soup. You have done great work and use lot ideas to make your soup. It looks very amazing. Keep it up!

I made and reviewed this before and I really like it. I was in a bit of a hurry and so I didn’t make the “cheese sauce” separately I just dumped it all in one pot. It turned out really well and I liked it a lot. I probably prefer it the way recommended but if you are in a rush the quick way is almost as good.

I love the quote you put here. I always try new recipes that I always mess up the first few times (even though I want to get them perfect). And it’s such a true quote that trying is what’s most important and the only way to gain new skills and recipes come from those efforts. Not to forget, the updated pictures are dope!

I don’t review things or make comments on blogs so this is a first! I made the soup when there was a vegan joining us, plus my son and I are dairy intolerant. It was delicious and everyone loved it. Since then I have made the sauce to make pasta with ‘cheese’ sauce, something I haven’t eaten for so long, and I am just about to make a veggie (broccoli, mushroom,almond) lasagne for the second time using the sauce from this recipe. Thank you so much for this. It is so delicious that I no longer have to make two (or even three: meat/veggie/dairy free) lasagnes. Even my meat and cheese loving husband enjoys it.

Would regular russet potatoes work for this in place of the yellow/red potatoes and Yukon golds? I have every ingredient except the right variety of taters…my store was out of Yukon golds today and I didn’t read the recipe thoroughly enough to see yellow/reds are recommended for the sauce. I have 5 lbs of organic russets just waiting to be used.. :) Let me know what you think! Can’t wait to make this.

Hey Melissa, While I haven’t tried this out yet myself, I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. The consistency may change a little, and you may need to adjust the liquid/seasonings, but otherwise feel free to experiment. I’d love to know how it goes!

I made this for my husband and two teenage children this week, and it was delicious! I’ll definitely be making this again. We just went vegan four weeks ago. Your recipes have been some of our favorites so far! Thank you!

Even my husband who recently sent me to the store to buy junk food because he said I am cooking too healthy likes this soup!!! I am so pumped. I used avocado oil. Also added a bit more salt and nutritional yeast as well a bit more oil at the end to give it more of a cheesy mouth feel. Thank you! This will be a regular recipe from now on.

Hi, can’t wait to make this but can’t find that darn chickpea miso. I have tried trader Joe’s, whole foods, fresh thyme market, Amazon pantry, and an Asian grocery store. Any ideas on where else I should find it?

Hi Angela, I am new to your website, and so far I have made this soup twice. It was absolutely delicious both times. I follow it pretty much to a T. For the cheese sauce I omit the garlic, and I use virgin coconut oil since I find the coconut flavor to be a subtle and nice added touch. For the soup, I omit the nutritional yeast and the miso (though I love chickpea miso) because I find it already has so much flavor.

I also used my own homemade veggie stock which makes it even better! This soup is a labor of love and it always makes me and my boyfriend feels really whole, and makes us sleep so deeply. Thank you!!

This was a HUGE hit with my family! I didn’t take the time to peel potatoes and it was perfectly fine. So save yourself some time. And I would double the recipe to be sure you have some leftovers…you’ll want them! ;) I wouldn’t use quite as much cayenne pepper but I definitely LOVED the diced onion, parsley and paprika garnish. The presentation was wonderful.

I came across this recipe a while back and I saved it in my bookmarks so make some day. My husband and I just became vegans a few months ago. And yesterday my husband said that we had some broccoli to use and I thought of this recipe and decided to make it! So I made it this evening and I realized that I don’t think I’ve ever even had broccoli and cheese soup to begin with so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The soup turned out pretty good. My one piece of advice is to read the ENTIRE recipe because I missed the part about refined coconut oil versus virgin coconut oil.. I just saw coconut oil in the recipe and didn’t think twice about it. So my soup is tastes a little like coconut oil. Otherwise the soup is very tasty! I put some toasted bread with vegan butter and garlic salt on top as the croutons and added some smoked paprika. Mmmm! So good. We love this recipe and will be making it again! My husband loves it! Thank you for making recipes vegan and delicious!!

Delicious! Loved this soup- even before it got the miso in it is was delicious and hearty. I am sharing this recipe with my veggie-loving family and definitely plan to make this many a cold weather day when I want something cozy! Thanks!

I got an Oh She Glows cookbook from by mom at Christmas. I am totally in love with your book and we enjoyed it so far. I just found your website and this is my second recipe from your blog. And this soup is AMAZING. I am not sure what brocolli and cheese soup is supposed to taste like with real cheese, but it tastes like the real deal for me! The cheese sauce is great and goes really well with the broccoli soup. Thank you!

This soup is absolutely delicious! The recipe is winning for vegan and non, alike. NOTHING what you would expect from a 5 star broccoli and cheddar soup is lacking. If anyone’s interested in trying, please don’t hesitate. Make it for your next meal.
Thanks so much for such a solid, super satisfying recipe <3

Based on the reviews I had reallyyyy high hopes for this recipe. Unfortunately mine came out watery and rather bland. Now, I know since there’s no dairy it wasn’t going to be creamy but I was expecting more flavor and a smoother texture. I only made one sub, which was with the miso, other than that followed it to a T. Did I not blend it enough? Any reasons it would be watery? Thanks.

Hey Sam, Oh so sorry to hear that! I do find that the miso is integral to the flavour of the soup…it adds a lot of dimension. As for the soup being watery, this could happen if the veggies weren’t sautéed long enough before blending (to cook off the water). If you are looking for a creamier soup, you could try blending in some raw cashew butter too. Hope this helps!

this was incredible. so hearty and creamy- as a vegan ive been craving broccoli cheddar soup for a while (even in the hot summer, lol) and this hit the spot! mine didnt turn out that beautiful cheeze colour you have there, but none the less was AMAZING!

If youre lookin for a healthy alternative… this is it.
If youre vegan and looking for a little luxe.. this is it!
make it tonight… or this weekend, whenever you have an hour.

Angela, you are a cooking genius! Your recipes are THE BEST!!!
I can’t believe how incredibly delicious and authentic your cheddar cheese sauce is in this recipe!
I want to put it on top of everything!!
Keep up the great work.
You really have a gift!

Does this cheese sauce work for other things (like as a dip, on nachos etc…)? My search for dairy free broccoli soup brought me here. I’m severely lactose intolerant and all I know is that looked like real cheese! 😂 Can’t wait to try it!

Made this a few times and love it! I’ve been looking for a good creamy mushroom soup recipe, so I did some experimenting and used this one but substituted mushrooms for broccoli and added a bit of truffle oil along with the coconut oil in the cheese sauce. AMAZING! Love how adaptable this cheese sauce is ❤️

I never comment on recipes but I’ve made this twice in the last few weeks and it’s a keeper. It definitely takes a full hour to prepare but is worth it. The consistency and flavors are spot on and very decadent. You’d never know you were eating a healthy and vegan version this traditional soup.

This broccoli and cheese soup is amazing! I can see why you commented that there are never any leftovers. OMG just the best soup on earth for a cold and windy January day here in Ontario. This soup is the Ultimate Comfort Food!

I love this cheese sauce. I use it on mac n cheese and the kids love it. More recently I made a batch, added 1tsp of chili garlic sauce and served it piping hot with nachos as a dip. Also have used it on top of nachos and salsa. OMG so good!

Omg, I just made this. The soup ws delicious, but what blew me away was the cheese sauce!!! My husband’s guilty pleasure is that store bought mac&cheese with ready made sauce and I can’t wait to serve him this and he won’t even know the difference 😄

Thanks so much for this recipe! My partner and I have been cooking it for a couple of years now and I haven’t even felt the need to tweak :) It’s the perfect winter warmer – comfort food at its best! Thanks again Angela!

Thanks for this delicious recipe! I added a few cashews to the cheese sauce, subbed celery seed for the celery, and didn’t puree all the soup because we like our soup more chunky. Otherwise I followed your recipe. It was soooo good! 5 stars! I have to say the Vitamix really helped achieve that cheese-like texture. I will be saving this recipe to make again.